Actress Viola Davis was ‘absolutely terrified’ to play Michelle Obama in The First Lady

LOS ANGELES – Actresses Viola Davis, Gillian Anderson and Michelle Pfeiffer play former first ladies of the United States in a new television series, but only Davis had the challenge of playing one who is still alive.

And the Oscar winner has reacted angrily to criticisms of her portrayal of Mrs Michelle Obama in The First Lady, which premieres on Rock Entertainment (StarHub TV Channel 509, Singtel TV Channel 318 and mewatch) on Friday at 6pm, and follows the personal and political lives of several presidential wives.

Some viewers who watched the 10-part show when it first aired in the US in April complained on social media that Davis’ lip-pursing and other facial expressions were exaggerated, distracting and even insulting to Mrs Obama.

Davis later told BBC News it is “incredibly hurtful when people say negative things about your work” and that “critics absolutely serve no purpose”, although she conceded that “not everything is going to be an awards-worthy performance”.

Speaking at a virtual press event before The First Lady premiered, Davis, 57, says she felt immense pressure and fear in taking on this role.

“I had the insurmountable task of everyone knowing who Michelle Obama is. Everybody has claimed ownership of her and there is nothing about her that they want desecrated.”

Davis felt the demands of the role were so specific that “exactly how she uses her mouth is how you have to use your mouth”.

And “you don’t want to insult (everybody) with your portrayal”, adds the American performer, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the period drama Fences (2016) and an Emmy for the crime series How To Get Away With Murder (2014 to 2020).

The idea that Mrs Obama might watch and critique her performance kept her up at night, Davis reveals, but says: “That’s what we live for as artistes. It’s a huge exercise in letting go, and it’s a huge exercise in transformation. But I was absolutely terrified, I’m not going to lie.”

Davis listened to Mrs Obama’s podcast and watched videos of the 59-year-old to study her speech patterns and mannerisms.

She also read Mrs Obama’s 2018 memoir, Becoming, and met her in person before filming began.

Davis recalls being impressed by the former first lady’s “sense of worth” and “sense of belonging”, and compared her with a rooted oak tree.

“There was nothing about her that felt secondary, that she was the woman behind the man. She absolutely seemed like a person who has a sense of self.”

Being married to former US president Barack Obama “doesn’t make her someone – she was someone from the moment she came out of her mother’s womb”, says Davis.

British-American actress Anderson, 54, was also asked at the event if she felt pressure playing a historically consequential figure in the late Eleanor Roosevelt – the first lady during husband Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency from 1933 to 1945 – and whether she approached it as she would any other part.

“No, you don’t treat it like any other role. You do take it a lot more seriously and it does feel like there’s a lot more pressure,” says Anderson.

“The amount of time that’s put into it isn’t necessarily more, but the focus of the time ends up being spent in different ways and, for me, that meant as much research as possible.”

The actress, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the historical drama The Crown (2016 to present), adds: “Fortunately, with the small handful of historical women I’ve played, there’s been quite a lot of footage out there, so that’s incredibly helpful.”

“You show up and do your best, and then you have to let go, because people are either going to love it or hate it, and that, at the end of the day, is none of my business.

“I just cross my fingers and hope for the best.”

American actress Pfeiffer rounds up the trio as Betty Ford, wife of former president Gerald Ford, who led the country from 1974 to 1977.